Gerard Prime, the owner and operator of Frontline Figures in Hong Kong, is possibly the granddad of the modern toy soldier (I'm sure Gerard will love me calling him that!) My reasoning is due to the fact that Gerard, or rather Frontline, were the first company to begin producing modern style toy soldiers in Hong Kong/China back in the early 1980s (shortly followed by King & Country). Since the company's humble beginnings FF grew into a major manufacturer of figures during the late 90s and early 2000s, and although now Gerard only releases a few sets a year I can almost guarantee that most modern day collectors have at least one or two Frontline sets in their collection.

The two sets released most recently are Generals Lee, Stuart and Longstreet (with an A.D.C.) for the ACW range (ACP12) and a French Imperial Guard band (featuring 12 musicians) from the Napoleonic Wars (FGB7).

Both sets are really well made and feature Frontlines inimitable style, matt painted, detailed, whilst still retaining a somewhat toy-like quality. Gerard confirmed to me at the time of writing that these sets have been purposely released with less figures than previous, similarly styled, sets to ensure the price is kept lower and more affordable. Expect to pay £66/$88 for the ACW set and £145/$216 for the 12 piece band.